2 Weeks with Wii Fit

I purchased a Wii Fit on April 4 using money I got from my birthday. I had done some research on it and read peoples reactions, and had decided that I wanted to get it and use it. I have now had it for over 2 weeks, and only missed a few days. I now actually have motivation to work out, and have fun doing it.

I've set as a goal to do 30 minutes of actual workout time per day, and I try to get a balance of all 4 types of workout (yoga, strength, aerobic, and balance) in each day's workout. Ever since I unlocked the Free Step option, I start my workout with 10 minutes of that, then do a few strength and yoga exercises, then finish up with some balance games. I can get through 30 minutes of workout in about 45 minutes of real time, which has come down from more than an hour when I first started.

I'm a sucker for automatic tracking of statistics of things I do (such as Xfire, last.fm, and Raptr), so I really like the automatic graphing of things like weight, Wii Fit age, and time spent exercising. I also like that it's got enough variety to keep me interested from day to day, and enough visual and audio stimulation to not make it mundane. Doing Wii Fit exercises in our apartment lets me do things that make me feel ridiculous (such as crazy yoga poses) without having others watch me.

Wii Fit is obviously not for everybody. If you already have a gym membership and go on a regular basis, then this might not help you. If you routinely go running or swimming, then you shouldn't stop doing those things to switch to Wii Fit. However, doing these things in addition to Wii Fit could provide a way to have a varied workout. If you are like me and don't get off the couch much during your free time, then this is a great way to combine game playing with fitness. I have a blast doing my daily exercises, and I am inspired to play every day to help achieve my fitness goals.

Lamb of God - Wrath

I've been listening to the new Lamb of God album Wrath in my car quite a bit over the last few weeks. It kicked my butt from the get-go, and it hasn't let up. In fact, I would be willing to consider it my new favorite Lamb of God album (which previously was Ashes of the Wake).

I don't really care for the opening instrumental track, so I usually skip right over it. However, the next 3 tracks are my favorites on the album, with the fourth track, "Contractor", being my favorite. The fast tempo makes the machine-gun drums and riffing guitars sound awesome, and I can't help but crank it up and headbang while I'm driving. It's also got an interesting section near the end because the lyrics (starting with "Lay the hammer hammer down...") are sung once at 1:55, then repeated at 2:56. However, the second time through those lyrics, they're started a half line early, which makes the beat sound different in comparison to the vocals. It's a great effect that is pulled off.

The rest of the album is solid, and I don't feel compelled to skip over any of the songs. The last track, "Reclamation", has a minute long opening along with a minute of nothing at the end, but has a great middle section. Most of the song is in 6/8 time, which seems rare for a metal song, but it totally works. Near the 3:30 mark it switches to more of a 4/4 time with a half-time drum beat (which makes it 2/2?), which you can't help but do a slow headbang to.

All in all, I give the album a 10/10. I think it's my new favorite album for having cranked while I have my windows down (which was Evergreen Terrace's Wolfbiker for a while before this).